Baton Rouge police in riot gear aggressively pursued protesters Saturday night (July 9) in a series of attempts to push back crowds from Airline Highway, ending with what many demonstrators said appeared to be indiscriminate arrests.

Earlier in the evening, a group of about 500 protesters broke off from the larger demonstration across from the Baton Rouge Police Department and marched more than a mile south, nearly reaching Interstate 12. Police scrambled to stop the crowd from proceeding to the highway interchange, arriving with a bus and tactical vehicles full of officers.

The police formed a line and began pushing protesters back toward the BRPD headquarters, grabbing any protesters that came too close to the line. A small group of police arrested two protesters at once, slamming one man face down to the pavement and using a Taser on him.

The skirmishes came on the fourth day of demonstrations reacting to the police-involved shooting of Alton Sterling in north Baton Rouge. It marked the second day in a row of multiple arrests as the demonstrators became more provocative and the police went on the offensive. About 30 people were arrested during protests at the Baton Rouge Police Department on Friday evening, and at least another 30 were taken into custody Saturday, State Police told The Associated Press.

After the group of 500 protesters returned from their march, the crowd at Airline Highway and Goodwood Boulevard swelled. Protesters and police stood at opposite corners until the police marched in formation across the street to face off with the crowd.

At that point, police began pulling people from the crowd and arresting them, prompting the group to temporarily disperse. The police then marched back to their corner and the crowd returned to line the highway.

During a second face-off with protesters about 30 minutes after the first, police charged into the crowd, chasing protesters into a gas station parking lot and tackling and arresting several who were fleeing. Angry protesters began throwing water bottles at police in response.

State Police Maj. Doug Cain said protesters were warned to stay out of the road, and that only those that broke the law were taken into custody.

Protests were continuing at midnight, though dozens appeared to be walking back to their cars and leaving.